Death, Burial, Cemetery, & Obituaries

Collection Information

In a few of the vital records collections on Ancestry.com.au, you will find indexes that link to images of actual records. In other cases, there are indexes containing information which will help you request the full record. Viewing the actual record is beneficial as it often contains details not included in the index.

If you find your ancestor in an index, be sure to click on the database title and look at the description to learn how to request the actual record.

For Australian Birth, Marriage and Death Certificates, you will need to contact the individual state registry offices:

With the England & Wales FREE BMD Birth, Marriage and Death indexes, you can order a copy of the original certificate directly through Ancestry.com.au – just look for the little shopping trolley image to the right of the search results.

This category includes civil, church, cemetery, obituary, and other death-related collections. In addition to details about the death, they can contain birth information, family origins, cause of death, and more.

Death records are primary resources for details about the death, since they were typically created relatively near the time of the death. This collection includes indexes that can help you request the actual record, and in some cases, actual images of the death records. Use the information you find in one type of death record to seek out other death-related records.

Search Tips

Follow your ancestors through census records and city directories. Sometimes when they disappear from these records, it can narrow their death date. You’ll want to cover all bases though and check to make sure they didn’t move in with grown children, siblings, or other family members.

Seek out the death records for all family members. Information found on the records of siblings may include helpful details that aren’t found on your ancestor’s record.

You’ll typically find a variety of records were created for your ancestor’s death. Once you locate one, you’ll want to use information in that record to explore other types of records. Use the date of death to find obituaries, cemetery records, civil and church records, probates, Social Security, and where applicable body transit records.

Don’t limit your obituary search to the area in which your ancestor lived. Newspapers in areas where your ancestor formerly lived, or where other family members lived may have run an obituary–and sometimes you’ll find more detail.

Once you find a matching record, save it to your family tree – that way you can provide evidence to back up the info in your family tree, easily share your discover with your family, and quickly find the historical record again later.